Sweeper glide

ABSTRACT

A furniture glide is provided for mounting on a lower surface of an object. The furniture glides includes a base having an upper surface and lower surface for engaging a supporting surface. A disc-shaped element projects radially outward from the outer periphery of the base. The disc-shaped element has an upper surface lying in a common plane with the upper surface of the base and a lower surface. A compressible sweeping element depending from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element and terminating at a floor engaging surface. As the lower surface of the object is slid along the supporting surface, the sweeping element of furniture glide sweeps debris, dirt and dust on the supporting surface away from the lower surface of the base.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/698,781, filed Jul. 13, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to furniture glides, and in particular, to a furniture glide that incorporates a sweeping element that sweeps dirt and dust away from the glide portion of the furniture glide when the furniture glide is slid along a supporting surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Furniture glides or sliders are often mounted on the terminal ends of the legs of a piece of furniture to act as a buffer between the legs and the floor on which the piece of furniture rests. Typically, furniture glides take the form of convex-shaped discs having flat bottoms that rest on the floor. These discs are mounted to the furniture leg by various means such as adhesive, nails or the like. While functional for their intended purpose, prior art furniture glides have certain limitations. For example, on floors having a high degree of debris, dirt and/or dust thereon, it may be difficult to slide the piece of furniture therealong. This is due to the fact that the debris, dirt and dust may hinder the sliding movement of the furniture glide on the floor. As a result, it is often necessary for an individual to remove the debris, dirt and/or dust from the floor before attempting to slide the piece of furniture thereon. This process can be both time consuming and monotonous. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a furniture glide that may be used on floors without requiring the prior removal of any debris, dirt and/or dust thereon.

Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a furniture glide that may be securely retained on the terminal end of a piece of furniture.

It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a furniture glide for mounting on the terminal end of a piece of furniture that sweeps away debris, dirt and/or dust from about the furniture glide when the piece of furniture is slid along the floor.

It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a furniture glide for mounting on a terminal end of a piece of furniture that prevents damage to the floor on which the piece of furniture sits.

It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a furniture glide that is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to utilize.

In accordance with the present invention, a furniture glide is provided for mounting on a lower surface of an object. The furniture glide includes a slider having an upper surface and a generally arcuate lower surface terminating at a generally flat apex. A sweeping element extends about the apex of the slider for engaging the supporting surface.

The slider includes a base having an outer periphery and a disc-shaped element projecting radially outward from the outer periphery of the base. The disc-shaped element includes an upper surface and a lower surface. The sweeping element depends from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element. The sweeping element also includes a generally planer floor engaging surface lying in a first plane. The apex of the slider lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane. The apex is generally circular and has an outer periphery. The sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the apex. An adhesive may be provided across the upper surface of the slide for affixing the furniture glide to the object.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a furniture glide is provided for mounting on a lower surface of an object. The furniture glide includes a base having an upper surface and a generally arcuate lower surface terminating at a generally flat apex. A disc-shaped element projects radially outward from the outer periphery of the base. The disc-shaped element has an upper surface lying in a common plane with the upper surface of the base and a lower surface. A sweeping element depends from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element and terminates at a generally planer floor engaging surface.

It is contemplated for the apex of the base to have an outer periphery. The sweeping element includes an inner surface and an outer surface spaced by the floor engaging surface. The inner surface of the sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the apex. The floor engaging surface of the sweeping element lies in a first plane and the apex of the base lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane. An adhesive may be provided across the upper surface of the base for affixing the furniture glide to the object. In addition, an adhesive may be provided across the upper surface of the sweeping element for affixing the upper surface of the sweeping element to the lower surface of the disc-shaped element. The sweeping element is fabricated from felt or other fibrous material.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a furniture glide is provided for mounting on a lower surface of an object. The furniture glide includes a base having an upper surface and lower surface. A disc-shaped element projects radially outward from the outer periphery of the base. The disc-shaped element has an upper surface lying in a common plane with the upper surface of the base and a lower surface. A compressible sweeping element depends from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element and terminates at a floor engaging surface.

The lower surface of the base has an outer periphery and the sweeping element includes an inner surface and an outer surface spaced by the floor engaging surface. The inner surface of the sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the lower surface of the base. The floor engaging surface of the sweeping element lies in a first plane and the lower surface of the base lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane. An adhesive is provided across the upper surface of the base for affixing the furniture glide to the object. In addition, an adhesive may be provided across the upper surface of the sweeping element for affixing the upper surface of the sweeping element to the lower surface of the disc-shaped element. The sweeping element is fabricated from felt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings furnished herewith illustrate a preferred construction of the present invention in which the above advantages and features are clearly disclosed as well as others which will be readily understood from the following description of the illustrated embodiment.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing the furniture glide of the present invention affixed to the terminal end of a leg of a piece of furniture;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the furniture glide of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the furniture glide of the present invention taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a furniture glide in accordance with the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. Furniture glide 10 includes a base 12 having a generally flat upper surface 14 and a lower surface 16. Lower surface 16 of base 14 includes a generally arcuate, floor engaging portion 16 a and a generally flat disc-shaped portion 16 b projecting radially therefrom. Disc-shaped portion 16 b of lower surface 16 of base 12 and upper surface 14 of base 12 are separated by outer periphery 18 of base 12. Floor engaging portion 16 a of lower surface 16 of base 12 terminates at a generally flat apex 20.

Furniture glide 10 further includes a generally ring-shaped, sweeping element 22 defined by a radially inner surface 24 and a radially outer surface 26. Inner and outer surface 24 and 26, respectively, of sweeping element 22 are interconnected by a generally flat upper surface 28 and a generally flat floor engaging surface 30. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, sweeping element 22 has a width W generally equal to the width of disc-shaped portion 16 b of arcuate lower surface 16 of base 12 and a height H. Upper surface 28 of sweeping element 22 is affixed to disc-shaped portion 16 b of lower surface 16 of base 12 in any suitable manner such as by foam adhesive 32 or the like. As a result, inner surface 24 of sweeping element 22 is spaced from the outer periphery of apex 20 of floor engaging portion 16 a of lower surface 16 of base 12. It is contemplated for foam adhesive 32 to be resilient such that adhesive 32 urges sweeping element 22 away from disc-shaped portion 16 b of lower surface 16 of base 12, for reasons hereinafter described. Alternatively, base 12 may be formed without disc-shaped portion 16 b such that sweeping element 22 may be mounted directly to the outer periphery of floor engaging portion 16 a of base 12 without deviating from the scope of the present invention.

It is intended that furniture glide 10 be mounted on terminal end 34 of furniture leg 36. Terminal end 34 of furniture leg 36 includes a generally flat terminal surface 38. As such, it is contemplated to interconnect upper surface 14 of base 12 to terminal surface 38 of furniture leg 36 by means of adhesive 40 or the like. It is contemplated to interconnect furniture glide 10 to furniture leg 36 in other manners without deviating from the scope of the present invention. By way of example, furniture glide 10 may be interconnected to furniture leg 36 by means of a fastening element such as an adhesive, a nail or the like, or alternatively, by a grommet fastener as described in applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/704,417 and incorporated herein by reference.

In operation, furniture glide 10 is interconnected to terminal surface 38 of furniture leg 36, as heretofore described. Thereafter, furniture leg 36 is deposited on a supporting surface such as floor 42. It can be appreciated that sweeping element 22 is constructed from a compressible material such as felt or other fibrous material. As a result, as furniture leg 36 is deposited on supporting surface 42, sweeping element 22 is compressed to a height H2. In the event that the piece of furniture from which furniture leg 36 depends is of sufficient weight, adhesive foam 32 is compressed such that the lower surface 30 of sweeping element 22 is substantially flush with flat apex 20 of floor engaging portion 16 a of base 12. In such circumstances wherein the piece of furniture from which furniture leg 36 depends is not of sufficient weight, e.g., an unoccupied chair, adhesive foam 32 is not sufficiently compressed such that the lower surface 30 of sweeping element 22 is urged below the plane of flat apex 20 of floor engaging portion 16 a of base 12. As a result, the apex 20 of floor engaging portion 16 a of base 12 is positioned above supporting surface 42, thereby minimizing the potential for scratch damage to supporting surface 42 by base 12 of furniture glide 10. As furniture leg 36 is slid along supporting surface 42, sweeping element 22 of furniture glide 10 sweeps away the debris, dirt and dust from floor engaging portion 16 a of lower surface 16 of base 12. As a result, furniture leg 36 may slide simply and easily along supporting surface 40 while furniture glide 10 protects supporting surface 42 from scratch damage.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention. 

1. A furniture glide for mounting on a lower surface of an object, comprising: a slider having an upper surface and a generally arcuate lower surface terminating at a generally flat apex; and a sweeping element extending about the apex of the slider for engaging the supporting surface.
 2. The furniture glide of claim 1 wherein the slider includes: a base having an outer periphery; and a disc-shaped element projecting radially outward from the outer periphery of the base.
 3. The furniture glide of claim 2 wherein the disc-shaped element includes an upper surface and a lower surface and wherein the sweeping element depends from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element.
 4. The furniture glide of claim 3 wherein the sweeping element includes a generally planer floor engaging surface lying in a first plane and wherein the apex of the slider lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane
 5. The furniture glide of claim 1 wherein: the apex is generally circular and has an outer periphery; and the sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the apex.
 6. The furniture glide of claim 1 further comprising an adhesive across the upper surface of the slide for affixing the furniture glide to the object.
 7. A furniture glide for mounting on a lower surface of an object, comprising: a base having an upper surface and a generally arcuate lower surface terminating at a generally flat apex; a disc-shaped element projecting radially outward from the outer periphery of the base, the disc-shaped element having an upper surface lying in a common plane with the upper surface of the base and a lower surface; and a sweeping element depending from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element and terminating at a generally planer floor engaging surface.
 8. The furniture glide of claim 7 wherein: the apex having an outer periphery; the sweeping element includes an inner surface and an outer surface spaced by the floor engaging surface; and the inner surface of the sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the apex.
 9. The furniture glide of claim 7 wherein the floor engaging surface of the sweeping element lies in a first plane and wherein the apex of the base lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane.
 10. The furniture glide of claim 7 further comprising an adhesive across the upper surface of the base for affixing the furniture glide to the object.
 11. The furniture glide of claim 7 wherein the sweeping element includes an upper surface and wherein the furniture glide further comprises an adhesive for affixing the upper surface of the sweeping element to the lower surface of the disc-shaped element.
 12. The furniture glide of claim 7 wherein the sweeping element is fabricated from felt.
 13. A furniture glide for mounting on a lower surface of an object, comprising: a base having an upper surface and lower surface; a disc-shaped element projecting radially outward from the outer periphery of the base, the disc-shaped element having an upper surface lying in a common plane with the upper surface of the base and a lower surface; and a compressible sweeping element depending from the lower surface of the disc-shaped element and terminating at a floor engaging surface.
 14. The furniture glide of claim 13 wherein: the lower surface of the base has an outer periphery; the sweeping element includes an inner surface and an outer surface spaced by the floor engaging surface; and the inner surface of the sweeping element is radially spaced from the outer periphery of the lower surface of the base.
 15. The furniture glide of claim 13 wherein the floor engaging surface of the sweeping element lies in a first plane and wherein the lower surface of the base lies in a second plane parallel to and axially spaced from the first plane.
 16. The furniture glide of claim 13 further comprising an adhesive across the upper surface of the base for affixing the furniture glide to the object.
 17. The furniture glide of claim 13 wherein the sweeping element includes an upper surface and wherein the furniture glide further comprises an adhesive for affixing the upper surface of the sweeping element to the lower surface of the disc-shaped element.
 18. The furniture glide of claim 13 wherein the sweeping element is fabricated from felt. 